Investment management giant Vanguard has announced the addition of 17 new investment funds to “Vanguard Investor Choice,” increasing the number of eligible investors by approximately two million across more than USD 200 billion in assets, bringing the total eligible assets in the programme to more than USD 3.6 trillion and the number of eligible investors to 22 million. This is the fifth expansion of Vanguard Investor Choice, the largest proxy voting choice programme in the world.
“Vanguard Investor Choice continues to help improve the corporate governance ecosystem by ensuring the voices of more investors can be heard. We are proud to continue to pioneer proxy voting choice for index fund investors, empowering them to more directly express their proxy voting preferences for their proportionate share of the funds,” John Galloway, Global Head of Investor Engagement at Vanguard, said.
“In 2025, we more than doubled participation in Investor Choice, reflecting strong – and increasing – investor interest in proxy voting. Going forward, we plan to continue to make it easier for all investors in our US equity index funds to participate,” said David Reiner, Head of Investor Choice at Vanguard.
Meanwhile, the value of assets that Vanguard manages outside the United States has surpassed USD 1 trillion, with the company now planning a significant global expansion, with the goal of doubling the number of clients and assets in its portfolio in five years.
Salim Ramji, the chief executive of the world’s second-largest asset manager, told the Financial Times (FT) that globally, there would be “unbelievable opportunities” as governments seek to encourage millions of savers to put their excess cash into investments.
He said the United Kingdom and Europe were “overexposed to cash and cash deposits,” partly because investing is “too expensive, too complex, and there are lots of barriers in the way to helping people make good long-term investments.”
Vanguard, which oversees assets worth more than USD 12 trillion globally, specialises in low-cost products and offers ready-made investment funds for “DIY” investors. The company aims to more than double its 17 million international clients within the next five years to nearly 40 million.